Storage battery



STORAGE BATTERY Original Filed April 29, 1940 I IN VENTOR. .ZQMES H/u.

- ATTORNEY5 Patented Aug. 10, 1943 STORAGE BATTERY James R. Hill,Cleveland hts, Ohio, assignor to Willard Storage Battery Company,Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of West Virginia Original applicationApril 29, 1940, Serial No.

332,180, now Patent No. 2,287,802, dated June 30, 1942. Divided and thisapplication December 11', 1941, Serial No. 422,527

1 Claim. (Cl. 136-134) This invention relates to storage batteries andprovides an improved construction therefor in which slotted insulatingstrips underlie the plateconnecting straps and extend between suchstraps and the plates of opposite polarity.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved storagebattery construction in which an insulating strip applied to the lugs ofa group of battery plates of one polarity extends transversely of theplates beneath the connecting strap of that plate group and insulatessuch strap from accidental short-circuiting contact with adjacentportions of the plates of opposite polarity.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing description when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingsheet of drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a storage battery embodying my improvedconstruction and showing the battery with portions thereof broken away;

Fig. 2 is another perspective view illustrating my improved batteryconstruction, the view showing a group of battery plates in position forleadburning to a connecting strap with my slotted insulating stripunderlying the strap;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a slotted insulating strip used inmy improved battery construction; and

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing such a slotted insulating-strip formedof rubber or equivalent moldable material.

This application is a division of my original application, Serial No.332,180, filed April 29, 1940, now Patent No. 2,287,802 granted June 30,1942.

Further reference will now be made to the ac- 'companying drawing forthe purpose of describing my improved battery construction more indetail, but notwithstanding such detailed description, it will beunderstood, of course, that my invention includes all similarconstructions and variations coming within the scope of the appendedclaim.

Before proceeding with the detailed description of my improved batteryconstruction, it might be explained in a general way that my inventioncontemplates the use of a slotted insulating strip formed of paper orother appropriate material which is applied to the lugs of one or bothgroups of positive and negative battery plates contained in a batteryelement. As will be explained more in detail hereinafter, thisinsulating strip extends between the strap connecting the plates of onepolarity and the tops of the plates of the opposite polarity andprevents accidental short-circulting engagement between such plates andstrap. As explained in said original application, this insulating stripalso serves a very useful purpose in the work of assembling the parts ofthe battery, in that it serves to hold the plates ing a container llhaving a plurality of cells or compartments provided with the usualcovers l2 and containing battery elements formed of positive' andnegative plates I3 and I4 alternately arranged with insulatingseparators I5 between adjacent plates. The battery plates I3 and M areof the type having upstanding lugs projecting therefrom substantially inrows and connected by connecting straps It of the usual type leadburnedthereto. The positive and negative plates i3 and It of the battery 10have my slotted insulating strip I! applied to the lugs thereof, theinsulating strip which is applied to the lugs of the negative plates Mbeing visible in the battery as illustrated in Fig. 1. stood, of course,that a similar insulating strip may be located in a correspondingposition relative to the connecting strap of the positive plates 13 ofthe same cell.

The insulating strip I'i shown in detached relation in Fig. 3 may beformed of paper, cloth,

fibre, latex, or various plastics or any other suitlent sheet material,I may use a similar slotted insulating strip formed of suitable moldablematerial, such as the hard rubber strip Ila shown in Fig. 4. i

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the strip l1 extends transverselyacross the tops of the plates and separators and it underlies, and is Itwill be undersubstantially coextensive with, the connecting strap I6 towhich the plates M are lead-burned. The lugs 01 the plates ll extendthrough the slots 01 the strip l1 and are itused to the strap l8 by thelead-burning. In this position the strip l1 serves as an insulatingmeans which will prevent short-circuiting in the event that jarring ofthe battery should cause the plates I3 to accidentally come intoengagement with the under side of the strap l6.

To further illustrate the location and use of my insulating strip I1, Ishow such strip in Fig. 2 applied to the upstanding lugs of a group ofspaced battery plates 20 and show a connecting strap 2| in position forlead-burning to the plates. The connecting strap has a comb portioncomprising teeth 22 spaced and arranged to project between the pairs oflugs 20a of the plates 20. The connecting strap may rest on the stripl1, and during the lead-burning operation, the comb portion and the lugs01 the plates are fused into a solid mass, such as that represented bythe connecting strap [6 of the battery shown in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawing, it will nowbe readily understood that I have provided an improved batteryconstruction in which slotted insulating strips applied to the lugs ofthe plates underlie the plate-connecting straps and serve asan'insulating means to prevent short-circuiting in the event thataccidental contact should occur between the plates of one polarity andthe connecting strap 01 the opposite polarity as the result of jarringof the battery or any other cause.

proved battery construction in a more or less detailed manner, it'willbe understood, of course,

that I do not Wish to be limited to the particular details andarrangements herein disclosed, but regard my invention as including suchchanges and modifications as do not involve a departure from the spiritof the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: A storage batterycomprising two sets of spaced plates arranged in alternate relation,each set of plates having a row of upstanding lugs thereon, a containerfor the plates, a cover for said container, connectors extendingtransversely of the plates below said cover and lead-burned to the lugs01 the respective sets, said lugs being relatively short and the tops ofsaid plates being close to the underside of said connectors, and twoflexible insulating strips each underlying one of said connectors andhaving slots through which said lugs extend, each insulating strip lyingon the tops of the plates .of one set and serving to shield itsconnector from short-circuiting engagement by the tops of the plates ofthe other set.

. JAMES R. HILL

